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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is implied by Mr. Coulson's mention of Palm Beach?
(a) He spends the winter in Palm Beach.
(b) He misses his friends in Palm Beach.
(c) He dislikes New York.
(d) He does not want Mrs. Widdup to go away on vacation.

2. What physical gesture of affection does Mr. Coulson make toward Mrs. Widdup?
(a) He holds her hand.
(b) He touches her arm.
(c) He kisses her.
(d) He strokes her hair.

3. What point is made through the juxtaposition of Mr. Coulson's and Mrs. Widdup's comments about springtime?
(a) Mrs. Widdup does not return Mr. Coulson's affections.
(b) Mrs. Widdup is a much more emotional person than Mr. Coulson is.
(c) They have very different points of view about springtime.
(d) There is a significant gap in their education and social classes.

4. What kind of clam is a "chowder-doomed clam" (332)?
(a) One that is poisonous to humans.
(b) One that is personified as feeling worried.
(c) One that is confused by its surroundings.
(d) One that is destined to be eaten in soup.

5. Why is Mr. Coulson so clumsy on the afternoon after the ice is delivered?
(a) He is frustrated that he has not yet been able to confess his feelings to Mrs. Widdup.
(b) He is upset because of the cold.
(c) He is nervous about speaking to Mrs. Widdup.
(d) He is angry at Miss Coulson's meddling.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is implied by the number of days for which Miss Coulson orders extra ice?

2. Miss Coulson has a "lorgnette" (334). What is a lorgnette?

3. What claim is the narrator making by calling humans "lineal scions of the pansy" (332)?

4. According to the narrator, what does May want humans to remember?

5. How many years apart are Miss Coulson's and Mrs. Widdup's ages?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does O. Henry characterize the month of May?

2. When Miss Coulson says that the supposedly chilly weather is "An instance...of winter lingering in the lap of spring," what double meaning does she have in mind? (335).

3. What is the significance of the sound of the overturned chair after Mr. Coulson confesses his feelings to Mrs. Widdup?

4. When Mr. Coulson complains that no one in the house cares if he lives or dies, how does Mrs. Widdup's reply set the events of the story in motion?

5. What happens when Mrs. Widdup makes an excuse to go into Mr. Coulson's room to speak with him after the ice is delivered?

6. Explain the significance of the diction "foxy" to describe Mrs. Widdup (333).

7. How does O. Henry use verbal misunderstandings to characterize Mrs. Widdup when she first appears in Mr. Coulson's room?

8. What is Miss Coulson's plan to head off her father's budding romance?

9. What rhetorical purposes does O. Henry accomplish with his introduction of Mr. Coulson through a list of things that he "has," like gout, money, and a daughter?

10. How does O. Henry use dry humor to reveal the narrator's opinion about Mrs. Widdup in the narrative intrusion on page 333?

(see the answer keys)

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